1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a novel electronic typewriter of excellent quality capable of electronically controlling the action of a print head according to signal obtained from a keyboard.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Typewriters are classified into two kinds: one is manual type that entire components of mechanisms are connected with one another mechanically, and manual operation of each key on a keyboard is coupled directly to the striking action of a type bar; and the other is the electric typewriter wherein a drive motor is provided, and each of the type bars relating to keys is driven by a snatch roll coupled directly to the motor.
In comparison of these two types, the former is disadvantageous in the point of requiring skill to depress each key with uniform force, while the latter has disadvantages in the increase of weight and production cost resulting from the provision of a drive motor, a snatch roll and other components related thereto. And even these mechanical typewriters are also equipped with a multiplicity of components including key levers, bell cranks, type bars and type-bar-wires for individual keys, hence requiring highly advanced technology in manufacture and rendering the structure bulky beyond convenient portability.
One of the prior art typewriters which suggest a partial solution of such problems in the conventional typewriters is disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,954,163, which describes a high-speed printer wherein the principal part of the printing mechanism comprises a single print wheel with a plurality of type elements disposed around the periphery thereof and a single print hammer for impacting the type elements. However, a DC motor to be driven under complicated control is employed therein for rotating the print wheel, and in the entirety of the mechanism, there exist some components not directly applicable to the typewriter.